1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to modular interconnection systems, and is more particularly concerned with a modular telephone connection system for interconnecting circuits in telephone signal equipment to circuits in a telephone station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telephone sets, and associated interconnection hardware, have become modular as telephone companies have endeavored to combat increasing service expense, particularly in the areas of splicing, wiring, customer installations and equipment rearrangement which involve a great deal of labor. This trend towards modular construction and a variety of modular jack and plug combinations are discussed by Albin R. Meier, in his article "The modular telephone-- a money-saving idea whose time has come", Telephony, Nov. 25, 1974, pp. 27-33. The interconnection apparatus in this article relates to connections between a subset and the handset, and between the subset and a wall jack.
In a well known interconnection technique, a cable is extended from the telephone signaling and switching equipment to a telephone station via a pair of mating connector units, hereinafter simply called connectors. In this manner, a number of circuits can be extended to the connector which is connected to the telephone signaling and switching equipment, and selected ones of those circuits can be extended from the matable connector to the telephone station by simply providing the latter connector with less than a full complement of contacts at selected positions. This adds a certain amount of flexibility for an interchange between a regular telephone station and a multi-function station, such as a key telephone station. Among those connectors which have been utilized in this type of interconnection system is the Series 57 connector manufactured by Amphenol Industrial Division of Bunker Ramo Corporation, the assignee of the present invention.